The Night we lost Folawiyo!
‘Pastor, please do something now. Help me talk to your brother. He has suffered too much’ to just go this way. Talk to God for us’- these were the words of a battered mother, who saw me as a ray of hope in one of the darkest days of her life. I have been broken in life but listening to the plea of a grieving mother who is in denial is such a heart wrenching experience.
For starters, I am not a Pastor and I have Zero intention of becoming one. I lead an all-men team in church and very early on this dreadful day I received a call that shook my life from the core. ‘Hello KSA, when was the last time you heard from Folawiyo?’ I immediately responded that we spoke a day before and the caller broke the news, then abruptly ended the call.
That morning, I was heading home to take a presentation on CBN’s E-Naira deployment- maybe it was my reluctance or annoyance with the idea; I knew it wasn’t really an emotionally bright morning for me. When I got the call, the first thing I said to myself was ‘No, it’s not possible. He sent me a message yesterday, apologizing and explaining why he couldn’t take up some assignment’
I am an unrepentant believer of Christ. I believe in life, eternal life, death and resurrection. I believe Jesus raised Lazarus from the Dead, Tabitha was brought back to life and many others in the written word. I kept up the Faith and assured the caller that I was on my way to Lekki.
On that 45 minutes trip from Yaba to Lekki, I literally had my chest in my hands, praying in the Holy Ghost and declaring the word. The devil doesn’t want to Kill alone, he wants to steal the faith we are supposed to contend for. So, I kept declaring until I got to the hospital and I saw the entire friends and family gathered in a very heart breaking manner.
I was walked into the main hall and when the Mom saw me- it was a mixture of pain and hope. ‘Ah, you are from the church! Pastor, ejoor’ (Pastor please). I am not sure what I said or didn’t say, but I knew I was walked into the space my brother and co-laborer passed. I couldn’t mutter words but I prayed the prayers Apostle Paul prayed about Epaphraditus — So that our sorrow may not lump upon another, have mercy! The surprising thing? Even with his mouth clotted with blood, he maintained that smile. That his signature smile. But did God hear our cry?
Truly, he had mercy and heard our cry. By his mercies we swiftly secured a grave site, made arrangements for his cloth and made ready the body to be committed to Mother Earth. As I write this, I see Folawiyo’s smile even in his breathless state. That dude kept that smile till his last breathe. Happy, Jumpy, Ready-to-help and supportive human.
You don’t know how far you can go for a brother until you are faced with no option. The drama by the Cemetery workers? The suddenness of every activity? The pain that accompanies with taking responsibility?. This moment you are here laughing, the next minute you are asking the cemetery worker if they can’t clean the leg?! Mustering the strength to put that body into the wooden casket and we still sang ‘Ka bi o si o- No one can question you’..
In retrospect, God can be questioned. Abraham, Job, King David, Jesus — they all questioned God. Knowing fully well that God is not an unquestionable diety that we are so afraid to ask questions and get clarity for the dark areas in our heart.
So, God, why did the night we lost Folawiyo happen?
To a Man and Half, Folawiyo Abodunrin. Rest on Phlow!
Solomon O. Ayodele | Lagos Nigeria | s.ayodele@boysqafrica.com